Jeffrey A. Van Detta
John E. Ryan Professor of International Business and Workplace Law, Professor of Law
jvandetta@johnmarshall.eduEducation
B.A., Union College, summa cum laude
J.D., Albany Law School of Union University, cum laude
Courses Taught
Required Courses Currently Taught: Contracts I & II (Day Division); Torts I & II (Evening Division); Scholarly Writing For Law Journal
Required Courses Recently Taught: Wills, Trusts, & Estates; Remedies In Context; Professional Responsibility; Civil Procedure
Elective Courses: Conflict of Laws; Employment Discrimination Law; International Business Transactions (IBT); International Civil Litigation In United States Courts; Jurisprudence; Labor Law; Payment Systems; The Art Of Advocacy Experiential Learning Seminar; Scholarly Writing (Law Journal)
Career Highlights
Professor Van Detta entered the legal field after numerous academic achievements and honors. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at Union College of Union University, and during law school, he was elected Editor-In-Chief of Volume 51 of the Albany Law Review at Albany Law School of Union University. In law school, he was the inaugural Dean Ralph G. Semerad Memorial Scholar as well as a Van Horne Scholar; elected to the Justinian Academic Honor Society; selected by the faculty to receive the Scribes Award for the most outstanding and analytical student article published in Volume 50 of the Albany Law Review; and awarded the Cardozo Prize for his leadership and editorial work on the Law Review.
After law school, Professor Van Detta first served as Law Clerk to Judge Roger J. Miner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit before entering private practice. He practiced for 12 years at the international law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton LLP in Atlanta where he was elected to the partnership and concentrated his practice in the areas of domestic and trans-national employment discrimination law, domestic and European labor law, and international business issues, representing major international corporations.
Professor Van Detta then followed his father’s footsteps into academia, and joined the John Marshall faculty in August 1999. He was tenured and promoted to the rank of full Professor of Law in 2005. He served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in 2002 and in 2004.
In 2006, Professor Van Detta received the Robert J. D’Agostino Teaching Excellence Award from the students of John Marshall Law School, and he was named John Marshall’s 2006 Association of American Law Schools Teacher of the Year.
From 2011-2015, Professor Van Detta served as the Associate Dean for Scholarship. In addition to being a prolific writer, Professor Van Detta has lectured in collaboration with Professor Timothy Terrell of Emory University Law School on the topic of judicial opinion writing and editing. Professor Van Detta has also served on the faculty of numerous legal institutes in New York, Washington, D.C., and Montreal. Since 2005, he has served as a member of the Formal Advisory Opinion Board of the State Bar of Georgia.
In 2013, Merkourios, Utrecht Journal of International and European Law, appointed Professor Van Detta as a member of the inaugural Permanent Board of Referees, based on his expertise and scholarly publications in the areas of Trans-National Commercial Law, International Business Transactions, International Civil Litigation, Private International Law, Employment and Labour Law, and Jurisprudence. Professor Van Detta teaches courses encompassing those areas in AJMLS’s J.D. Program, American Legal Studies LL.M. Program, and Employment Law LL.M. Program. He also has taught and continues to pursue scholarship in the areas of Civil Procedure and Torts.
In recognition of his distinguished service to the law school, his excellence as a teacher, and the breadth and depth of his scholarship, the Board of Directors has conferred upon Professor Van Detta a named Chair in Law: The John E. Ryan Professor Of International Business & Workplace Law.
Publications
I. Articles Published To Date
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: How The New York Appellate Division Slowed The Progress of Judge Cardozo’s Effort In MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co. To End Privity’s Stranglehold Over Negligence Claims In Product Injury Cases, 41 Touro L. Rev. Issue 1 (forthcoming 2025).
Erie Mistakes: The Eleventh Circuit Misconstrues Already Problematic Georgia Precedent On Choice Of Law, 79 U. Miami L. Rev. Issue 4 (forthcoming Spring 2025).
Serving Sovereigns: In Republic Of Sudan v. Harrison, The Supreme Court Maintained The Inviolability Of Foreign Embassies Against Service Of Process Despite The FSIA Anti-Terrorism Exception’s Remedial Goals, 65 Va. J. Int’l L. Online 1 (2024).
(S)election Of Georgia Supreme Court Justices: Democracy — Or Dynasty?, 87 Albany Law Review, Issue 4 (forthcoming 2024)(State Constitutional Commentary Issue)
Heresies, Heretics, and Hermeneutics: The Battle of Textualism Against Pragmatism — and Itself — on the Roberts Court, 13 Belmont L. Rev. Issue 1 (forthcoming Dec. 2024)
A Primer and Update On Georgia’s Conflict of Laws, John Marshall Law Journal (forthcoming Fall 2024)(2024 Annual Law Journal CLE Symposium)
The Antebellum Irony of Georgia’s Disguised Lex Fori Doctrine: O Where Have You Gone, Brainerd Currie?, 50 Cumberland L. Rev. 407 (2020)(with Professor Joanna B. Apolinsky)
Cited in Monopoli v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, No. 1:21-CV-01353-SDG, 2022 WL 409484 (N.D. Ga. Feb. 10, 2022)
“For The Love Of God! Open This Door!”: Individual Rights Versus Public Safety Under The “Direct Threat” Standard Of The Americans With Disabilities Act After Three Decades Of Litigation, 6 Belmont L. Rev. 149 (2019)(Symposium Issue: “The Modern Workplace: Contemporary Legal Issues in Employment & Labor Law”)
Cited in Betancourt v. Indian Hills Plaza LLC, 635 F. Supp. 3d 579 (E.D. Mich. 2022)
Suing Sponsors of Terrorism in U.S. Courts — Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran and Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC: SCOTUS Trims To Statutory Boundaries The Recovery In U.S. Courts Against Sponsors of Terrorism and Human-Rights Violations Under FSIA and ATS, 29 Indiana Int’l & Comparative L. Rev. 303 (Spring 2019)(Annual Symposium Issue)
Essay: The Strange Career of Title VII § 703(m): An Unfulfilled Promise of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 89 St. John’s L. Rev. 883 (2015)(Symposium Issue: “Title VII at 50”)
The Law School Of The Future: How The Synergies Of Convergence Will Transform The Very Notion Of “Law Schools” During The 21st Century From “Places” To “Platforms”, published concurrently in 37 LaVerne L. Rev. 103 (Fall 2015) and by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations and the Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi L.J. (2015)(Symposium: Legal Education In The 21st Century, Istanbul & Ankara, Turkey, May 2014)
Sexual Orientation, Human Rights, and Corporate Sponsorship of the Sochi Olympic Games: Rethinking the Voluntary Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility, (2014) 30(78) Utrecht Journal of International and European Law 99 (special issue on Legal Aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility)(peer-reviewed)
Transnational Legal Services In Globalized Economies: American Leadership In, Not Mere Compliance With, GATS Through Qualifying LL.M. Degree Programs For Foreign-Educated Lawyers Seeking State-Bar Admissions, 13 Hofstra J. Int’l Bus. & L. 1 (2014)(lead article)
A Bridge To The Practicing Bar Of Foreign Nations—Online American Legal Studies Programs As Forums For The Rule Of Law And Pipelines To Bar-Qualifying LL.M. Programs In The U.S, 10 South Carolina J. Int’l L. & Bus 63 (Fall 2013)
Some Legal Considerations For EU-Based MNEs Contemplating High-Risk Foreign Direct Investments In The Energy Sector After Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum and Chevron Corporation v. Naranjo, 9 South Carolina J. Int’l L. & Bus. 161 (Issue 2, Spring 2013)(lead article)
Politics And Legal Regulation In The International Business Environment: An FDI Case Study Of Alstom, S.A., In Israel, 21 U. Miami Bus. L. Rev. 1 (2013)(lead article)
Rethinking Liability for Vaccine Injury, 19 Cornell J. L. & Pub. Pol’y 537 (2010) (with Professor Joanna B. Apolinsky)
Cited in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, 562 U.S. 223 (2011); Bryan A. Garner, Garner’s Dictionary Of Legal Usage, at 862 (Oxford U. Pr. 2011)
The Decline And Fall Of The American Judicial Opinion, Part II: Back To The Future From The Roberts Court To Learned Hand–Segmentation, Audience, And The Opportunity Of Justice Sotomayor, 13 Barry L. Rev. 29 (2010)
The Decline And Fall Of The American Judicial Opinion, Part I: Back To The Future From The Roberts Court To Learned Hand–Context And Congruence, 12 Barry L. Rev. 53 (2009)
Dialogue With A Neurosurgeon: Toward A Dépeçage Approach To Achieve Tort Reform And Preserve Corrective Justice In Medical Malpractice Cases, 71 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 1 (Summer 2009)(lead article)
Learned Hand’s District Court Opinions, 1916-1917: A Macrostructural Analysis Employing Cognitive Psychology Principles, currently available at Professor Van Detta’s Berkeley Electronic Press “Selected Works” webpage, http://works.bepress.com/jeffrey_van_detta/ (Posted April 2008)
Extraterritorial Personal Jurisdiction For The Twenty-First Century: A Case Study Reconceptualizing The Typical Long-Arm Statute To Codify And Refine International Shoe After Its First 60 Years, 3 Seton Hall Circuit Review 339 (Spring 2007)(with Shiv K. Kapoor, Esq.)
Cited in Huggins v. Boyd, 304 Ga.App. 563, 697 S.E.2d 253 (2010)(Barnes, J., concurring)
Requiem For A Heavyweight: Costa As Countermonument To McDonnell Douglas—A Countermemory Reply To Instrumentalism, 67 Alb. L. Rev. 965 (2004)
“Le Roi Est Mort” Redux: Section 703(m), Costa, McDonnell Douglas, and the Title VII Revolution: A Reply To Hedican, Hudson, and Hedican, 52 Drake L. Rev. 427 (Spring 2004)
Essay: “Le Roi est Mort; Vive le Roi!”: An Essay On The Quiet Demise Of McDonnell Douglas And The Transformation Of Every Title VII Case After Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa Into A “Mixed-Motives” Case, 52 Drake L. Rev. 71 (Fall 2003)
Cited in White v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 533 F.3d 381 (6th Cir. 2008); Van Arkel v. Warren, 365 F.Supp.2d 979 (S.D. Iowa April 12, 2005); Carey v. Fedex Ground Package System, Inc., 321 F.Supp.2d 902 (S.D. Ohio, Jun 15, 2004 ); Oby v. Baton Rouge Marriot, 329 F. Supp.2d 772 (M.D. La. Aug. 5, 2004); Grutz v. Nat’l Bank Ass’n, 695 N.W.2d 505, 2005 WL 291592, (Table, Text in Westlaw)(Iowa App., February 09, 2005) (No. 04-0107); William Joel Friedman, The Law Of Employment Discrimination: Cases And Materials,143 (Foundation Press, 9th ed. 2013); Susan Grover, Sandra F. Sperino, & Jarod S. Gonzalez, Employment Discrimination: Context and Practice, 97 (Carolina Academic Press 1st ed. 2010)
Justice Restored: Using A Preservation-Of-Court Access Approach To Replace Forum Non Conveniens In Five International Product-Injury Cases, 28 Northwestern J. of Int’l L. & Bus. 53 (Fall 2003)
Cited in Laura E. Little, Conflict of Laws: Cases Materials, And Problems 117 (Aspen/Wolters Kluwer 2013)
The Irony of Instrumentalism: Using Dworkin’s Principle-Rule Distinction To Reconceptualize Metaphorically A Substance-Procedure Dissonance Exemplified By Forum Non Conveniens Dismissals In International Product Injury Cases, 87 Marquette L. Rev. 425 (lead article Spring 2004) (entered in 2004 AALS Annual Scholarly Papers Competition)
Cited in Jack. H. Friedenthal, Arthur R. Miller, John E. Sexton, & Helen Hershkoff, Civil Procedure, Cases and Materials 400-401 (West Pub. 10th ed. 2009); Laura E. Little, Conflict of Laws: Cases Materials, And Problems 117 (Aspen/Wolters Kluwer 2013); Larry L. Teply & Ralph U. Whitten, Civil Procedure, 60 (Foundation Press, 3d ed. 2004)
Constitutionalizing Roe, Casey, and Carhart: A Due-Process Anti-Discrimination Principle To Give Constitutional Content To The “Undue Burden” Standard Of Review Applied To Abortion Control Legislation, 10 So. Cal. Rev. L. & Women’s Studies 211 (Spring 2001)
Cited in Peter N. Swisher, H. Anthony Miller, & Helene S. Shapo, Family Law: Cases, Materials & Problems, § 3.02 (LexisNexis 2012))
Collaborative Problem Solving Responsive to Diverse Learning Styles: Labor Law as an Active Learning Experience, 24 N.C.C.U. L. J. 46 (Fall 2001).
Lawyers as Investigators: How Ellerth and Faragher Will Spotlight a Modern Crisis of Ethics, Professionalism, And Profits Through Trial Counsel Disqualification And Waivers of Privilege In Workplace Harassment Cases, 24 J. Legal Prof. 261 (Spring 2000)
Cited in Fognani v. Young, 115 P.3d 1268 Colo. 2005)(en banc); Ellis B. Murov, The Practitioner’s Guide To The Defense Of EPL Claims, 105 n.34 (Am. Bar Ass’n 2005)
Judges And Juries: Why Are So Many ADA Plaintiffs Losing Summary Judgment Motions And Would They Fare Better Before A Jury? A Response To Professor Colker, 19 Rev. Litig. 505 (2000)(University of Texas ADA Symposium Issue)(with Dr. Dan Gallipeau)
Cited in Maynard v. Pneumatic Products Corp., 233 F.3d 1344 (11th Cir. 2000); Ruth Colker, The Disability Pendulum: The First Decade of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 224-225 n.19 (N.Y.U. Pr. 2005)
“Typhoid Mary” Meets The ADA: A Case Study Of The “Direct Threat” Standard Under The Americans With Disabilities Act, 22 Harv. J. L. & Pub. Pol’y 849 (June 1999)
Cited in EEOC v. Exxon Corp., 203 F.3d 871, 874-75 (5th Cir. Feb. 11, 2000); Rizzo v. Children’s World Learning Centers, 213 F.3d 209, 221 n.30 (5th Cir. May 26, 2000) (en banc) (Jones, J., dissenting); Robert Belton, Dianne Avery, Maria L. Ontiveros & Roberto Corrada, Employment Discrimination Law: Cases And Materials On Equality In The Workplace 756, 780 (West 7th Ed. 2004)
Compelling Governmental Interest Jurisprudence of the Burger Court: A New Perspective On Roe v. Wade, 50 Alb. L. Rev. 675 (1986)
Winner of the Scribes’ Award for the outstanding student-authored article published in Volume 50
II. Treatise Contributions To Date
Lead author, Labor and Employment Laws of Chile, in International Labor And Employment Laws, volume II (ABA 2001).
Co-author with Professor Lynn Rhys-Jones, Cumulative Supplement to International Labor And Employment Laws, volume II, Ch. 30 Labor and Employment Laws of Chile (ABA 2002)
Author and Contributing Editor, How To Take A Case Before The NLRB, Chapter 14 (ABA 1996-99 & 7th ed. 2000)
Author and Contributing Editor, with Professor Helen de Haven, How To Take A Case Before The NLRB, Chapter 14 (ABA 8th ed. 2007)
Co-author with Professor Lynn-Rhys Jones and Contributing Editor, Cumulative Supplement to How To Take A Case Before The NLRB, Chapter 14 (ABA 2002 and 2003)
III. Editorial Positions To Date
Permanent Board of Referees 2013-2014, Utrecht Journal of International and European Law, University of Utrecht, Netherlands (formerly known as Merkourios) (2013-2016)
Peer-Review Referee 2017-present, Journal of Global Research in Education and Social Science
Peer-Review Referee, 2015-present, Quaestio Iuris Journal – State University of Rio de Janeiro
Media, Public & Professional Appearances
Update On Georgia’s Conflict Of Laws, Presentation At The 2024 John Marshall Law Journal CLE Symposium, March 2024, Atlanta, Georgia.
The 21st Century, Post-Pandemic “Law Office At Home”: The Ethical Challenges When Out-Of-State Lawyers Reside In-State But Run Out-Of-State Law Practices Remotely, Ethics Hour Presentation At The 2023 John Marshall Law Journal CLE Symposium, March 2023, Atlanta, Georgia.
Anti-Discrimination and The Regulation of Attorney Conduct by The State Bar: A Commentary on The Challenges ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) Faces in Georgia, Ethics Hour Presentation at the 2022 John Marshall Law Journal CLE Symposium, March 2022, Atlanta, Georgia.
Featured Speaker, Suing Sponsors of Terrorism In U.S. Courts─Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran and Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC: SCOTUS Trims To Statutory Boundaries The Recovery In U.S. Courts Against Sponsors of Terrorism and Human-Rights Violations Under FSIA and ATS, 2019 Annual Symposium of the Indiana International & Comparative Law Review (IICLR) (Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Indianapolis, IN, March 2019).
Presenter, Suing State Sponsors of Terrorism in U.S. Courts─Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran and Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC: SCOTUS Trims To Statutory Boundaries The Recovery In U.S. Courts Against Sponsors of Terrorism and Human-Rights Violations Under FSIA and ATS, (25th Annual Supreme Court Update, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta, GA, October 18, 2018)
Featured Speaker, “For The Love Of God! Open This Door!”: Individual Rights Versus Public Safety Under The “Direct Threat” Standard Of The Americans With Disabilities Act After Three Decades Of Litigation, to be published at 6 Belmont L. Rev. ___ (2019), Belmont University Law School’s 2018 Law Review Symposium-CLE Program, “The Modern Workplace: Contemporary Legal Issues in Employment & Labor Law” (Nashville, TN, October 5, 2018)
Panel Moderator, “Veterans In The System,” at The John Marshall Law Journal— Dean Robert J. D’Agostino 2018 Symposium, Veterans Law Issues, State Bar of Georgia Headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia,(March 27, 2018)
Panel Moderator, “Resolving Business Dispute,” at The John Marshall Law Journal— Dean Robert J. D’Agostino 2017 Symposium, Business Law In The 21st Century, State Bar of Georgia Headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia,(March 28, 2017)
Panelist, “Careers In Litigation,” the Black and Latino Students Ass’n, Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, March 25, 2017
Presenter, Update On Developments In The Alien Tort Statute After Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum: Is There Any Role Left For The ATS?, AJMLS International Law Soc’y, 25 March 2015 (Atlanta, GA)
Panel Moderator, ““What’s Race Got to Do with It? Just About Everything!”” at The John Marshall Law Journal— Dean Robert J. D’Agostino 2015 Symposium, Decreasing Youth Incarceration through Quality Juvenile Defense, State Bar of Georgia Headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia,(March 9, 2015).
Featured Speaker, Equal Pay for Equal Work: The Struggle For Equal Pay, From Days of the War Labor Board to the Equal Pay Act, Title VII, The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and President Obama’s Executive Orders of Summer 2014, presented as part of the “Controversies of Cultures Lecture Series” sponsored by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, the Political Science Department, the Human Resources Department, and the Pre-Law Society at West Georgia State University, Carrollton, GA, Tuesday, 30 September 2014, Ingraham Library.
Presenter, International Legal Education In The 21st Century, Conference hosted by Bahçesehir Üniversitesi, AJMLS, and the Turkish Bar Association in Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey, May 5, 6, & & 7, 2014. My presentations were based on two of my recently published articles:
A Bridge To The Practicing Bar Of Foreign Nations-Online American Legal Studies Programs As Forums For The Rule Of Law And Pipelines To Bar-Qualifying LL.M. Programs In The U.S, 10 South Carolina J. Int’l L. & Bus. 63 (Fall 2013); and
Transnational Legal Services In Globalized Economies: American Leadership, Not Mere Compliance, With GATS Through Qualifying LL.M. Degree Programs For Foreign-Educated Lawyers Seeking State-Bar Admissions, 13 Hofstra J. Int’l Bus. & L. 1 (2014)(lead article)
Panel Moderator, “Build It and They Will Come: The Realized Prophecy of Strickland v. Washington–Discussing the Collusive Use of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and Available Remedies Through the Georgia Legislature” at The John Marshall Law Journal— Dean Robert J. D’Agostino 2014 Symposium, The Legal, Ethical, and Practical Issues Facing Georgia’s Criminal Justice System, State Bar of Georgia Headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia,(March 4, 2014).
Presenter, The Alien Tort Statute and the U.S. Supreme Court: What’s the ATS and Why Should We Care What the Supreme Court Has Done With It In Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum? (20th Annual Supreme Court Update, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, 24 October 2013)
Presenter, The Alien Tort Statute and the U.S. Supreme Court: What’s the ATS and Why Should We Care What the Supreme Court Has Done With It In Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum? (Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School Faculty Lecture Series, 26 April 2013)
Presenter, “Supreme Court And Eleventh Circuit Employment Discrimination Law Update Covering The Period March 1, 2012-March 8, 2013,” Advanced Employment Law CLE Seminar (March 15, 2013)(Atlanta Bar Association-Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia)
Presenter, “International Civil Litigation in U.S. Courts,” Program For Delegation Of Judges From The Republic of Georgia (Atlanta, 18 October 2012) (sponsored by U.S. Department of State)
Panel Moderator, “Three Degrees Of Separation: The Gap Between International Human Rights Law And Human Rights Enforcement,” Feb. 8, 2012, at The John Marshall Law Journal— Dean Robert J. D’Agostino 2012 Symposium, Breaking Down Borders: A Look At Immigration Law In Georgia
Panel Moderator, “Developments In The Hague Child Abduction Convention,” Feb. 9, 2011, at
The John Marshall Law Journal— Dean Robert J. D’Agostino 2011 Symposium, In The Best Interest Of’: A Look At Family Law In Georgia, at State Bar of Georgia Headquarters.
Presenter, “Supreme Court And Eleventh Circuit Employment Discrimination Law Update Covering The Period December 2009-November 2010,” 40th Annual Labor & Employment Law Institute (December 7, 2010)(Atlanta Bar Association-Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia)
Presenter, “Update On Eleventh Circuit and Supreme Court Labor and Employment Law Decisions, December 2005-December 2006,” at The Labor & Employment Law Institute (State Bar of Georgia, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, December 2006)
Presenter, “Update On Eleventh Circuit and Supreme Court Labor and Employment Law Decisions, December 2005-December 2006,” at Employment Law Update Seminar (State Bar of Georgia, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, January 2007)
Panelist, “Professionalism Issues Every Lawyer Should Know,” presented by ABA Center for Professional Responsibility for the ABA Law Student Division at the ABA Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, August 7, 2004.
Moderator, “Windows On The World: Opportunities For JMLS Students For Study Abroad,” JMLS, Nov. 2004, sponsored by the International Law Society
Presenter, “The ‘Secret World’ of the U.N. Convention on the International Sale of Goods,” Lecture at John Marshall Law School, April 2003, sponsored by the International Law Society
Panelist, “Human Rights Litigation In American Courts,” Emory University Law School, September 2000, sponsored by the Emory International Law Society and the Southern Center for International Studies (SCIS)
Outside the Classroom
Professor Van Detta has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia’s Formal Advisory Opinion Board since 2005.
Additionally, Professor Van Detta has previously served on the Board of Atlanta Theatre-To-Go and the Southeastern Regional Board of the American Foundation for the Blind. He has also been a member of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies and the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers. Having worked in the Union College Schaffer Library during his college years, Professor Van Detta believes strongly in the role of college and public libraries in our communities, and he and his son have volunteered at the Smyrna Public Library.
Professor Van Detta is an active ambassador for the conservation of wildlife in our backyards and neighborhoods. He lectures on backyard bird-feeding and the history of feeding birds in America. He also curates the songbird habitat that he and his wife have established at their home. They have been especially successful in facilitating nesting by the Eastern Bluebird and the Brown-Headed Nuthatch.
Professor Van Detta is a congregant of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Atlanta. He notes that the most challenging teaching assignment he’s ever had was teaching Sunday School to 3rd and 4th graders.